BNP is a test which requires a simple blood draw yet can shed valuable insights about the valve deterioration (based on inference from the resultant pressure inside the heart). This test is generally done to rule out heart failure and is NOT a standard practice for valve patients, but some countries like Canada use it for heart valve patients too.
I became aware of it >1 yr before my surgery (since Feb'23; surgery was July'24), and sure enough BNP levels kept rising during this time-period, consistent with the symptoms I was having during my long distance runs. I was generally asymptomatic, my only symptoms started surfacing 2 years prior to surgery during my 1-hr runs. It was becoming harder and harder to maintain a given pace.
Now with the surgery done, BNP level are dropping back towards normal range (see Sept-Nov'24).
It may be worth a conversation with your cardiologist. It may be another marker to look at (along with echo, CT etc). It's only a simple blood draw and a very cheap ($) test.
I became aware of it >1 yr before my surgery (since Feb'23; surgery was July'24), and sure enough BNP levels kept rising during this time-period, consistent with the symptoms I was having during my long distance runs. I was generally asymptomatic, my only symptoms started surfacing 2 years prior to surgery during my 1-hr runs. It was becoming harder and harder to maintain a given pace.
Now with the surgery done, BNP level are dropping back towards normal range (see Sept-Nov'24).
It may be worth a conversation with your cardiologist. It may be another marker to look at (along with echo, CT etc). It's only a simple blood draw and a very cheap ($) test.
